Losing my mind with 3 kids 5 and under

A Loaf By Any Other Name…

I never thought I’d use a Shakespearean reference in a blog post about turkeyloaf, but hey, it works.

Today was one of those days where I felt totally uninspired. I wanted to cook, but I had no clue what to make. I turned to my trusty Pinterest food boards, but, alas, nothing called out to me. Everything looked run of the mill, nothing looked particularly appetizing or interesting. Even Pinterest wasn’t helping, and that’s when I realized we were fifteen minutes from a meal with a number for a name.

After a lot of back and forth, my husband finally suggested turkeyloaf. With the new wave of pink slime reports all over the news, we have been trying our best to stay away from the Slimy Ground Beef of Death. Turkeyloaf sounded like a great idea. Sorry for the tangent, but when I think of pink slime, am I the only one who thinks of that green slime they used to douse people with on those Nick shows in the ’90s? Only pink and beefy?

Yeah, I knew I wasn’t the only one. Also, I am pretty sure I just gagged.

Fast forward twenty minutes. I found myself at my local grocery store, pushing a cart around, tossing random ingredients into my cart, fully enjoying a (rare) peaceful grocery shopping trip without my two heathens in tow. You know, where I can actually look at what I’m buying, and have one entire uninterrupted thought, without having to referee a fight over who gets to hold my keys/cell phone/dignity.

I have made turkeyloaf a million times, and I don’t think I’ve ever made it the same way twice. I always change up the recipe, add things, leave things out, and the best thing about it is that it always comes out great. It is one of those fool-proof recipes that is nearly impossible to screw up. Which is great for me, because I am capable of being a pretty big fool.

Impossible To Screw Up Turkeyloaf

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

1 onion, chopped

1 cup milk

1 cup bread crumbs

1 egg

1 – 1 1/4 cups baby bella mushrooms (optional)

seasoning of your choice (I used Goya Adobo, you can use the pre-packaged meatloaf seasoning or whatever else your little heart desires)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Dump all the ingredients into a big bowl and mix it all together with your hands. There’s really no other way to do it as effectively as when you mix it with your hands- it’s a little bit gross to have meaty hands, but suck it up and wash them. I mean that in the nicest way possible.

You can leave the mushrooms out if you’re not a mushroom fan. I love mushrooms. (Not that kind, this isn’t the ’70s.)

Take the mixed up ingredients and put them in a loaf pan sprayed with non-stick spray or olive oil, or if you don’t have a loaf pan, shape the mixture into a loaf shape and put it into a regular baking dish.

Cover it with aluminum foil, pop it in the oven for one hour, then wait patiently for delicious turkeyloaf goodness.

I paired the turkeyloaf with roasted asparagus, which may just be the easiest and most delicious way to eat asparagus.

Just put your asparagus on a cookie sheet, drizzle it with olive oil, sprinkle it with salt, then let it hang out in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes, then devour those crispy little babies like nobody’s business.

My plate, which was empty within ten minutes of landing in front of me. That turkeyloaf didn’t stand a chance.